In simple terms, M/M is a book category that revolves around a love story between two men. I’ve never really had the chance to read M/M before, primarily because I didn’t know where to start. But as a lover of books, I try to explore all categories no matter what. Hence, late last year I started searching for the “perfect” M/M book. Thanks to the wonderful blog of Jen, I was directed to Abigail Roux and Madeleine Urban’s Cut & Run series (the first four books were co-written by Roux and Urban, the rest exclusively by Roux). I downloaded the whole series, started reading book one (Cut & Run) on a rainy Saturday evening. Come Thursday the following week and many sleepless nights in between, I finished all six books (Sticks & Stones, Fish & Chips, and Divide & Conquer, Armed & Dangerous, and Stars & Stripes), and since then fervently wish for book seven (Touch and Geaux, to be released April 2013) to come out, hopefully, sooner!

Cut & Run series

Why I Love the Series

Everything started when FBI agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett are partnered together to apprehend a serial killer. In the beginning, Ty is the rule breaker while Zane is the conservative one, Ty is hard-nosed while Zane is oddly docile, Ty is often cocky and insolent while Zane is often close-lipped. As the series progresses, both men show that there’s more to them than the aforementioned traits. Ty’s audaciousness to love and protect the one he loves is knee-buckling. Zane’s resolution to pull himself from the pit of chaos of his personal and professional life to be worthy of the life he hopes to build with Ty is heart-stirring.

It’s utterly thrilling to witness them fall in love. It’s even fascinating seeing them fight with and for each other. In essence, Ty and Zane are both alpha males and the dynamics of their relationship (not to mention the sexual orientation) are completely unconventional that as a reader, you can’t help but fall in love with them, too. Their conflicts and issues are complicated, to say the least. Their story touches complications – alcohol and drug addictions, self-destruction tendencies, flaws and insecurities- with real-life consistency.

Their romance is a treasure – falling in love, accepting their true selves, the hints of jealousy, their intimacy, possessiveness and even doubts about their relationship and themselves make everything real-like and reliable. Half the time reading the series, I often forget that the protagonists are both men, primarily because their issues and doubts don’t revolve around being gay- but by love itself.

Why I Like the Series

I’m a big fan of mystery stories in books, television and movies. I definitely like the combination of mystery and romance. I applaude both Ms. Urban and Ms. Roux’ creativeness to merge both genre in one seamlessly. I love Ty and Zane’s intimate moments as much as I love their investigating and interrogation skills.

I’m crazily obsessed with Cut & Run series. So much that Ty and Zane are included in my never-ending fictional LOVIES (yep, all caps means the category is the ultimate-of-all-ultimates fictional boyfriends!).

“Goddammit!” Zane lashed out without warning and hit the water bottle, sending it skidding across the carpet and splattering at Julian’s feet. “I’m gonna end up in the fucking madhouse because of you!” He reached out and grabbed Ty’s wrist, pulling him closer. “Loving you is going to make me fucking insane! I said no, and I mean it!”
― Abigail Roux, Armed & Dangerous

I honestly believe that reading books is one of life’s greatest pleasures. I’ve been a voracious reader for as long as I can remember. I live, breathe, love books so much that I literally can feel an ache whenever life’s impediments hinder me from reading.

As much as I love my work writing and editing various articles, reading lifts me higher. I feel extremely humbled and blessed to learn something new and experience a different world from authors — some I explicitly trust and others I’m just starting to enjoy. Books provide me with the courage to explore emotions and issues that I normally shy away from.

To be blunt about it, reading provides me with the most exquisite “mind fuck.” There’s nothing more arousing than a good book that sweeps you off your feet, makes you forget your reality, tugs your heart with the most conflicting emotions and transports you to a different place where you can practically feel every drop of the rain or the gentle wind that caress your face.

Now that I’m older… and, hopefully, a wiser (HAH!), I learn to relish reading for pleasure. I care and yet no longer care about hypes surrounding books or genres. I read what I want to read; regardless if some people find my variety of books eclectic, disturbing or just too damn sappy. I recently realized that there’s no such thing as a bad book. If you dislike what you’ve just read, then it simply wasn’t the story/genre for you. But others may enjoy it. Heck, others may even love it. When it comes to reading, there shouldn’t be any judgment.

As Nora Eprhon wisely said:

“Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on. Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficit disorder medicates itself. Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it’s a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it’s a way of making contact with someone else’s imagination after a day that’s all too real. Reading is grist. Reading is bliss.”